Fates
by dragonlayer
Summary: Takes place in ‘It’s a Bad,Bad,Bad World’ part 2. What happens if Chris didn’t die? A stranger questioning his believes is going to teach him how keep his faith alive.


**A.N: Now this story was deleted and reposted since it's very old and I've edited this thing a bit and I'm making a second chapter. It would still be on the one shot-y style, just like this one. Since I don't know how long it would take me to get an inspiration again if I'm making a full-fledged multichapter. So I'll just keep it simple.**

It was a happy, sunny day. Which wasn't so comforting, seeing as the sun should have already set. In the not so comforting warmth of the attic Chris Halliwell was going through the pages of the Book of Shadows. The silence, although scary, was a sign that nothing bad was happening. And then…

CREEK.

The screech of the wooden floor brought Chris out of his thoughts.

"Hello?"

After no answer came Chris got back to his previous job. In the silence could be heard the squeaking of the attic's floorboards. Chris looked around quickly and then walked over to Wyatt's side. The squeaking was now louder and it resembled the sound of steps.

"Okay… It's time to get you out of here." Said Chris and reached for his brother, when an invisible force threw him across the attic. A black cloak was lifted to reveal a surprisingly familiar face.

"Gideon."

"Don't make me sacrifice you both." He said to Chris before he turned to Wyatt.

Chris waved his hand and threw Gideon as far away as he could. _Don't fret; you are doing this for the greater good._ Gideon thought as he conjured an athame and stabbed the approaching boy. Chris winced as the pain spread through him.

"Dad!" was the cry of the young man before the Elder took his brother in attempt to leave.

Seconds later Leo was there by his son's side. A terrified look marred his face as he saw Chris's wound.

"Wyatt, Wyatt…" muttered Chris.

Leo turned and saw his mentor holding his eldest son.

"It's for the greater good, Leo." And he was gone before anyone could even comprehend what was happening.

Page break.

Leo was desperately trying to heal Chris, who seemed to be getting weaker by the moment.

"You have to find Wyatt." He said to his father.

"We are going to find him together." He answered, never tearing his eyes from the task at hand.

"It won't work. You've already tried. Gideon's magic did this to me. He's the only one who can stop it. Just go… Saving Wyatt saves the future, you know that." He could hardly make the words come out of his mouth. Everything seemed just so… woozy.

"Gideon doesn't know how to kill Wyatt, remember? We still have time."

"Only till the trauma turns him…"

"I'm not going to choose between you and Wyatt, Chris. I can't." Oh, how he had longed to hear these words that his father said. But this wasn't his father now, this wasn't the father that he had grown up to know. Right now, he was Wyatt's father.

"You don't have to, dad… Find Gideon and you save us both."

"Alright… but I'm not leaving you alone. I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

"To get one of your aunts to watch over you. You're gonna be fine, okay. I promise…"

_I don't think there's time for that._ Chris thought, after his father orbed away, and fell in deep slumber.

Page break.

Chris suddenly opened his eyes and surprisingly found himself staring at a stone wall. Looking around he acknowledged the shocking fact that he was no longer in the Halliwell manor but in a semi-dark dungeon. Okay_, I'm pretty sure I wasn't here two minutes ago. And what's with the singing?_ He looked around trying to decide which way to go but all he seemed to see were stone walls. _Wait a minute. Singing?_ He squinted his eyes in concentration and soon enough he could see a stone staircase and the song led him trough the stone halls and stairs right up to the sun. Well not literally of course, but he was on a green lawn, surrounded by stone ruins. Reaching hesitantly to the stone wall in front of him he was faced with magic. The sea! The sea was illuminating the sun's rays in the most mysterious and beautiful way. And there they were, the mermaids – splashing around, laughing and singing under the sunlight. Everything was glowing with magic. Chris couldn't help but think that this place was almost fairy tale- like. It was so mmysteriously beautiful, so cheerful, and seemed so quiet at the same time. So peaceful, exactly what his life hadn't been lately. He couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe he would like to stay there forever… that maybe he could meet Bianca here and share all this calmness, all the peace, that had suddenly settled in his soul, with her. Maybe if they were lucky enough they could stay there forever. In the light.

"Why would you want to do that?" a soft voice startled him.

He looked at the direction of the voice and saw a young woman standing on the wall, smiling at him. Her orange hair swayed in the light breeze, she looked like a gipsy. She slowly walked to him, sat on the stone wall and gazed at the horizon gently swaying her feet in the air. Chris threw a suspicious look at her and looked back at the sea, then back at her again.

"What do you mean?"

"Why would you want to share such a place with the woman, who betrayed you?"

Chris was quietly contemplating her words.

"She didn't betray me; she just didn't have any other choice. She had to do those things… and I can't believe I told you that without asking how you knew all this." He just blurted out. It seemed that words flowed so naturally from his mouth now.

The woman smiled softly, her gaze still locked on the sea.

"I bring that out in people."

Peace and quiet followed again. And Chris took this as chance to take notice of the disturbing thought that was creeping into his mind. A thought that this stranger had brought up unexpectedly.

"So, you admit she betrayed you?"

"I didn't say that." He said defensively.

"You didn't have to. The stench of betrayal's pain is all over you. You reek of it." She scrunched up her nose in disgust.

Cute! _Oh my God! Don't think that you creep, you just met her. Chris scolded himself._

"You don't know that."

"There are a few things that I don't know, Chris!"

He stared at the stranger and barely managed not to stomp his leg like a child that had his favorite toy taken away from him. This conversation had barely begun and it was already getting on his nerves.

"Bianca loves me. She just didn't want me to die. I guess she thought that Wyatt was too strong to deny. That was her way of helping me save my live."

"Not a very good one though." She giggled.

"Didn't say it was a good one. She loved me."

"She betrayed your cause."

"That doesn't matter. A person in love can't and won't think about anything else but their loved ones."

"I'm sure they don't, but I wasn't talking about that?"

Chris threw her a questioning look.

"Why did she come for you, Chris?" Her voice was gentle, as if she was scolding a child.

"Well, she said that if she hadn't come Wyatt was just going to send more assassins for me and that I would die." He shrugged

"Now, that is what I was talking about."

Chris tried to think of a somewhat intelligent answer.

"What do you mean?" And _that_ wasn't what he had in mind at all.

For the first time since this conversation took place the woman looked at him with her soft smile, like a young mother would at her silly child, and then gazed at the sea again.

"Chris, are you weak?"

"No!" he said carefully, he didn't like where this was going.

"Are you stupid?"

"No!" came the equally careful answer.

"Are you rash?"

"No, at least I don't think I am."

"Then, what did she come to save exactly? Because from where I'm standing, you didn't need saving in the least."

Okay, _now_ he was confused.

"I really don't know where you are getting with this."

"Didn't you say that Bianca loved you?"

"Yes!"

"Well, the way I see it, she didn't love you enough to acknowledge the fact that you aren't a quivering human mass that was weaker than her and couldn't take care of himself."

"Hey, don't talk about her like that!"

"I just think that more assassins to you would have meant just more work, not … you know… death."

And now his head was starting to hurt. Great!

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I'm just trying to make you see."

"See what?"

"That you don't want to share a place so beautiful with a woman, who clearly doesn't love you enough to have faith in your cause… or in you."

"What are you…?"

"Don't you understand?"

"Understand what?"

"Why you are here."

"Here?"

She turned to him and sighed.

"Look, Chris. This isn't some kind of dream. You are in… well it's a kind of purgatory."

"That's not purgatory."

"Well, how would _you_ know?"

"Because I've been there and that's not it."

"Of course it is. There's not only one purgatory, you know."

Chris sighed heavily and sat on the ground.

"Why am I here?" he whispered to himself.

The woman sighed too and sat beside him.

"You know, faith is important for a relationship… and many other things."

He looked at her questioningly.

"You don't realize why you're here, do you?" She asked sadly

"No!"

She looked at her hands, clasped in her lap.

"You are here, because you lost faith."

"Faith?"

"Yes, you're not the only one; almost no one has faith these days. That's why I'm here instead of…"

"Instead of where?"

"Home."

"Home?"

"Haven't you realized who I am, yet?"

He shook his head no.

"My name is Hsin Pou. Or at least one of my names is. Translated from Chinese it means… Faith."

Chris's eyes widened with realization.

"You mean, you are…?"

"Yes!"

She sighed again.

"There aren't many people who have faith in magic, themselves or even someone else these days."

"What do you mean; there are many people who believe in magic."

"That's the problem with you humans. You think having faith means being convinced magic exists in the same way you are convinced a chair exists. People who cannot be completely convinced of magic's existence think faith is impossible for them. Not so. People who doubt can have great faith because faith is something you do, not something you think. But you… you have so much faith in yourself… at least you used to have. In the person you are, in the decisions you took, in the cause you were following. But everything was lost the minute Bianca betrayed your faith. You are my only chance for survival, Chris, as long as there is even just one person who believes in me, I will live and do the thing that I love and do best…"

"What is that?"

"Giving faith to people who don't have it."

Chris looked at her suspiciously.

"Just think about it."

"How am I supposed to do that? How am I supposed to choose between life that may never be and life with Bianca, _here_?"

Faith stood up and grabbed his hand. At this little act his breath caught in his throat. Her skin was so soft.

"Let me show you something."

And seconds later they weren't on the surface anymore, they were in a cave filled with the beautiful lights illuminated by the crystals growing there.

"It's beautiful." He whispered.

"Just like faith. It may seem like a fairy tale, nice but pointless, because fairy tales don't exist, but it actually is this." She waved her hand at their surroundings.

"Precious!"

And with that they were back to the sunny landscape. Wrapping his mind around it all was difficult for Chris, especially now, that he knew that he was on the verge of dying. The young Faith came close to him, her head barely reaching his chin, and enveloped him in a hug.

"What are you…?"

"I am sending you back home."

"But… I haven't made a decision, yet."

"Yes, you have. The necklace will take you to your time, just say the spell that send you back in time and it will reverse the effects and you'll be home. To a better future." She slipped a delicate necklace in his hand and smiled sadly.

Sudden warmth engulfed him. And he realized what she was trying to do.

"It won't work, my father already tried. An elder did this, only an elder can remove it."

"I am faith, Chris; an elder's magic is nothing to me." She smiled and hugged him tighter. His hands hesitantly wrapped around her too.

"You don't have to…" she whispered.

"I want to." he whispered back and reprocreated her sad smile.

"Will I ever see you again?" she gazed at him with her honey colored eyes and gave him a hundred watt smile.

"If you have faith."

She reached up and their lips met. The moment her lips touched his, Chris felt an incredible warmth coursing through his whole being, reaching the farthest parts of his body _and_ his soul. He only hoped that someday, in the future, he could fell that warmth again.

Flash.

Chris took a deep breath and opened his eyes, and the minute that happened Leo attacked him with a hug and a million whispered 'I'm sorry'. After Chris managed to prey his father off him he looked around to make sure that he was in the manor.

"What happened?" asked Leo. "One minute you were dying, you were disappearing right in front of our eyes, the next thing we know your wound is disappearing and… and…" he couldn't continue anymore. He was chocking on tears. Happy tears.

"I had a dream, a great dream. It was so amazing."

Leo looked at him carefully and smiled.

"What was it about?"

"There was the sea and the sun and… and… I don't remember. I don't understand, it was clear, just now… I remembered everything and now…"

"Don't try to remember, maybe you weren't supposed to." Said Leo

Right in this moment Phoebe and Paige flew into Chris's arms, hugging him for all they were worth.

"You are awake, you are awake… and… where did you get that from?" said Phoebe pointing to his hand.

He gazed at the delicate necklace with a soft expression. It suddenly awoke in him such tender feelings.

"This, is what is going to get me home." He said gently.

"How do you know?" asked Paige, looking at the thing suspiciously

"I just do."

Leo nodded and hugged his son.

"You better go. Piper is in the hospital. You don't have much time."

Chris nodded, hugged his aunts and recited the incantation that had returned him back in time. In a flash he was back in the same place. Just different… in a way. _I did it. It's still here. I did it._

"Hey, Chris, bro, we are going to Magic School, you coming with?"

An overwhelming joy filled Chris's senses and he rushed to hug his brother.

"Whoa. I love you too, but we haven't seen each other in just like… half an hour."

"I know, I know. Sorry, I'm just happy today, let's go."

And they were off to Magic School, but there in the back of his head Chris had this crazy idea that he should be remembering something. Something _very_ important.

**A/N: ****And that was it. And since the story was deleted I've probably lost all my reviews, so please review. ****Thanks for reading.**


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